Slow to Love
by Anime-TMNT-97
Summary: Everyone always bring him down about his chance of being loved, especially Raph, but he is ever hopeful. Though he is quick to love she isn't quite as. As they swim around each other in their sea of awkwardness, they become closer with each passing day.
1. Chapter 1

'I'm being watched. I can feel it.'

"'It's getting closer. Maybe coming to the library this late by myself wasn't a good idea after all. Well then, I'll just have to walk home faster.'

"Mikey! Shut up! What part of being a ninja don't you understand?" said an annoyed voice near by. I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone. 'Probably some kids playing around.'

Soon those voices were gone and I was quickly turning the next corner. I looked over my shoulder and saw a man walking behind me, quickly, but maintaining a small distance. When he saw me notice him he gave a devilish smirk that sent shivers down my spine. He started to close the gap between us.

Freaked out, I turned forward and smacked into another man who grabbed me by my shoulders, causing me to drop my book.

"Hey sweet cheeks! Where you headed?" He had an awful smell and his clothes were covered in dirt and stains.

"Oh, you got her!"said the man who had been following as he caught up.

"Unhand me, I'm late for an appointment," I tried to act cool and confident in the situation. I wasn't going to show weakness to them, but as the man who followed me grabbed a fistful of my hair and smelled it, I felt my confidence wane. My resolve disappeared.

"You've got some nice legs, girly," said the man from behind and started to touch my thighs.

My anger flared and I kneed the man in front in a sensitive area and hit the man from behind me with my elbow.

I started to run but I hadn't noticed that there was a third man behind me and he grabbed a fistfull of my long hair and pulled. I cried out in pain and fell backwards to the ground.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" he said as he knelled beside me .

All of the sudden, four figures landed from above. They were tall and armed.

'They're turtles...turtles...what?...' I wasn't sure of whom I should be more frightened by.

As the other men started to get up, two turtles, one clanned in blue and the other in orange, took on one each. The one clanned in red, aggressively, took on the one holding me down. The last, purple clanned, picked me and my book up and took off.

"Are you all right? Where do you live? Did they hurt you?" he asked all these questions, but I felt like if I spoke, my fear, anger, and shock would be too much and I'd break down and cry.

The purple clanned turtle stopped running and slowed to a walk.

"Seriously,are you okay?" he asked, and then an idea seemed to occur to him, "I'm not going to hurt you by the way! I'd never do that! I'm sorry, I must really be scary to you..." He looked somewhat distressed.

"I live in the second to last house on the next street," I managed weakly.

His eyes lit up. "Sure thing! Oh, and you were amazing back there! You took down two of them by yourself! Don't worry, my brothers will take care of them!"

I nodded and asked if he could set me down from his princess carry. Soon we were outside my home and he nodded before taking off.

Once inside I realized he forgot to give me my book back. Either way, I went straight to bed to sleep my stress away.


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the turtle's lair:

"Hey Donnie, how'd that girl take it when you ran off with her? I bet she yelled all the way to wherever you left her!" Raph mocked his younger brother.

"No she didn't yell, in fact, she barely said a word," Donatello answered.

"Too scared to speak?" Raph said teasingly.

"Well, what did she say?"asked Leonardo.

"Well, I asked where she lived so I could drop her off, and after a while she told me. Oh, and she wanted to walk instead of being carried. What did you guys do to those low lives anyway?" Donatello asked with anger suddenly radiating from him.

"Calm down Donnie,"said Leonardo a bit surprised.

"We beat the crap out of them, like usual," Raphael bored of the conversation now.

"What's with the book? Where'd you get it?" asked Michelangelo in between bites of his pizza.

"What?" Donatello barely realized he was still carrying the girl's book, "I forgot to give this to her! Now she'll have a late fee!"

"Calm down, a late fee is a small cost for saving her, don't you think?" asked Leonardo.

"I have to give this back to her!" Donatello said completely ignoring Leonardo and heading back outside.

"Donatello, it is late. Give her some time to rest. You may go tomorrow," said Master Splinter.

"Yeah, I guess that's the best thing to do," he agreed sullenly. His brothers looked at one another and smirked.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I woke up to a tapping on my window. I rolled over and it was barely 5:43 a.m. I groaned. I'm not a morning person.

The tapping continued. 'Probably some stupid bird. What else would be up at this ungodly hour.'

"Hey! It's me from yesterday!" a voice whispered-yelled. I froze and yesterday's events flooded my memory. 'I must still be dreaming.'

"I brought your book back! I forgot to hand it to you last night!"said the voice. 'It must be the turtle, the _turtle_ , who rescued me.'

Apprehensively, I stood up and went over to let him in through the window. He slid right in.

"Whoa, nice bedhead,"he said with a grin, in which I noticed he had a gap. Then I realized I was in P.J.s, my hair was a mess, and I wasn't even wearing my glasses.

"Oh my god, where are my glasses?" I started to pat around my bed in search for them.

"Here they are!"said the turtle as he handed me my glasses.

"Wow, your eyes are so big and pretty! I mean...they're nice! I mean...yeah..."he looked down in embarrassment.

"Thanks, oh, and thank you for taking the trouble to return my book. You didn't have to," I said as started to brush thorough my knotted hair.

"You seem to be taking in my existence pretty well," he paused and looked down, "I was kinda expecting you to freak out today now that the shock was gone from yesterday."

"No, I'm fine. Actually...could you thank your brothers for me? I'm truly grateful for yesterday."

"Sure!" an idea seemed to occur to him, I could almost literally see a little bulb go off in his head. "Hey! Why don't you come home with me and thank them yourself! They'd love to have you!" he suggested, his excitement barely contained.

"No, I wouldn't want to impose on you guys." Some part of me still couldn't believe I was talking with a giant turtle in my room.

"No no, they'd love it! We've actually never spoken with humans before, in fact you're the first person I've ever talked to," he added looking embarrassed.

"I don't know if I should..."I trailed off nervously.

"Please?" he begged, then he seemed to become distressed with realization. "Unless you're scared, I understand, I guess we are kind of scary," he said with a sad smile, not meeting my gaze.

Something in me couldn't deal with him looking so sad, something about his easy to read emotions and facial expressions made me want to see him smile, not frown.

"What's your name?" I finally asked to distract him, and because I was genuinely curious.

"Oh! Donatello. I must have forgotten to mention it before, hehe,"he said with a hand behind his head.

"Donatello,"I felt myself say. He widened his eyes. "I like your name," I said giving him a smile.

At this, I noticed a light pink tint appear on his cheeks. "What's y-yours?" he stammered.

"Maria," I said watching his expressions, they were cute.

"Maria," he repeated.

I looked over at the clock and remembered school. "Well, I have to get ready for school," I hinted, still considering whether or not I should visit Donatello's brothers, wherever they lived. 'Donatello seems nice enough, I feel like can trust him. I guess there'll be no real danger, it'll be awkward though.'

"Oh okay, I guess I'll see you around,"he says dejectedly as he started to walk towards the window.

He was halfway out the window as I said, "Can you be here at seven? I'll go tonight, if it's not a bother."

He was outside but stuck his head inside to say, "Really? Oh sure! I'll be here at seven! They'll love to have you! Bye! Have a fun and educational day at school!" He waved and disappeared.

"Fun might be hard..."I said to myself. I threw myself back on my bed. 'Did I really just agree to visit them? I know I owe them a thanks...but I'm still rather nervous...'


	4. Chapter 4

In 3rd person P.O.V.

"Donnie's been gone too long! The sun is nearly out!" said Leonardo, who was pacing with worry at the thought that his brother might be seen.

"Don't worry about him, he's probably depressed somewhere after seeing how that girl cowered in fear of him," mocked Raphael, who was in the middle of a comic.

"But he's taking too long!" Leonardo insisted.

"Chill Leo, he's never been rejected before. He needs time alone to mend his broken heart," said Michelangelo, trying to sound wise and all-knowing.

In that moment Donatello entered the Lair with a huge smile on his face.

"What took you so long?" asked an annoyed Leonardo.

"Hey! I need you guys to help tidy this place up!" he said as he picked up random trash that laid about.

"Why?" asked Michelangelo.

"Hey, how'd that girl take it when you showed up? I bet she was so scared she fainted in bed!" Raphael said as he roared with laughter.

"No, she did not," Donatello said matter-of-factually. "In fact, I'm bringing her over tonight. She'd like to thank you guys for saving her."

*Silence*

"Really?"asked Leonardo, all annoyance at his brother's tardiness gone.

"She actually wants to come?" asked Michelangelo, eyes full of excitement at the thought of a new friend.

"Donnie, are you sure she wants to? You're not forcing her are you? I mean, it's pretty hard to say no to a giant turtle who, even though is a huge dork, can snap her in half," said Raphael not even lifting his eyes from his comic.

"No, I didn't force her! She's coming here on her own free will!" Donatello assured looking appalled and getting defensive.

"Donnie, no offense, but are you sure she wants to?" asked Leonardo in a soft tone, trying to not upset his brother anymore.

"Yes! I said it was okay if she didn't want to come and, as I was leaving, she agreed to come! Sure, she seemed somewhat nervous, but she wasn't scared of me nor the thought of meeting you guys," assured Donatello.

"So she didn't freak out at all today?" asked Raphael, now interested.

"No, well yes, but not of me. She freaked out when she realized she wasn't wearing her glasses. It was like watching Velma from Scooby Doo. She is so cute..." Donatello said staring off into space dreamily.

"Donnie?" asked Leonardo.

"Huh?" Donatello said as he came back to Earth.

"She has glasses?" asked Michelangelo.

"Yes! And they're purple! It's a sign! And she has these huge eyes! They look like she's thinking about a million things at once!" again, Donatello said drifting off towards his thoughts rather than his surrounding.

He snapped back when he heard Michelangelo chanting, "Donnie's got a girlfriend! Donnie's got a girlfriend!" At this Donatello started to chase him.

"Donatello, who is this girlfriend Michelangelo's yelling about?"asked Master Splinter walking into the living room.

"I, um, she's not my girlfriend, but...she's the girl we rescued yesterday. I invited her over tonight..." he looked down embarrassed and worried about Splinters reaction to him inviting Maria over.

"And she agreed?" asked Master Splinter.

"Yes!" Donatello answered getting annoyed with that question.

"In that case, you should all clean this place before she gets here. Unless, you want her to think we're a bunch of pigs."

"But we're turtles," said a confused Michelangelo.

"You are correct Michelangelo," responded a retreating Master Splinter. "You're free from training today."

Donatello and his brothers started cleaning. As Donatello cleaned, he thought of which invention he could impress Maria with. All the turtles were excited for tonight, even Raphael, but none more so than Donatello, whose excitement grew with every passing hour.


	5. Chapter 5

All day I could think of nothing but my plans for the evening, even through my math class where I could not spare any time to daydream.

As I walked home, I contemplated whether or not I should buy them a gift, as a token of my gratitude. Just thinking of what could have happened if they hadn't shown up gave me shivers.

Seeing a nice bakery,I made up my mind and decided I'd buy them a cake. I chose a chocolate cake that smelled amazing, even through its box.

Once home, I decided to keep the clothes I was currently wearing. 'I don't think being formal is necessary.'

I tried to ease my nerves by planning some conversation topics I could use with them, but they all seemed silly, frivolous, or maybe even offensive. Then a thought occurred to me. 'Do turtles eat chocolate?...I should ask Donatello before leaving.'

After an hour of me trying to do homework, even though it was Friday evening, not Sunday night, I heard a very soft but definite _thud_. 'He's here.' I went over and opened the window to a very surprised Donatello.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asked.

"I heard you," I answered simply.

He made a face, but quickly smiled. "Anyway, you ready?" he asked, eyes bright.

"Yes, oh, wait. What do turtles eat?"

"That depends. Are we talking sea turtles or fresh water turtles?" he asked completely missing my point.

"I meant you."

"Oooh we can eat human food. And algae."

"So is chocolate cake a yes?" I asked picking up the box.

His eyes widened. "Is that for us?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah..."

He smiled. "We love it."

"Okay, I'll meet you outside." He nodded and jumped out the window.

"I'm going to a friend's house!" I said as I walked towards the door.

"Who's house?" my mom asked from the living room.

"Oh, um, Amanda's," I lied coming up with a random name.

"Okay, when will you be back?" she asked now in sight.

"When should I be back?"

"Well, since it's Friday...I guess be back before 10:30."

"Okay, bye!"

Once outside I couldn't find Donatello. "Donatello?"

"Over here," whispered a small voice from behind.

I walked over to the shadow between my house and my neighbor's.

"This way," he said walking out of the shadow and across the street until we stopped in the middle, next to a manhole.

"Now what?" I asked confused.

"We go down there,"Donatello said pointing down into the sewers.

"Ooh."

He lifted the cover and jumped down.

"I don't think I can jump down there..." I said, scared more of the jump than the smell.

"Don't worry. This part of the sewer is clean, well, for a sewer," he assured from below.

"No...well that's good, but...I'm not about to jump and break something. How about you just take the cake and thank them for me?" I said taking a step back from the hole.

"Don't worry Maria! I'll catch you!"

I stood there conflicted for a while. 'I can't just jump into a sewer. I don't even know how deep it is!'

"Please?" he said softly.

His voice tugged something inside me. "Ugh, fine. Please don't let me die."

I sat on the edge and slid in, still partially expecting to die.


	6. Chapter 6

"Gotcha," Donatello said as he caught me in a princess carry.

"It's not even far," I said mostly to myself.

"Yeah, you should be able to make it yourself next time. And there is a ladder..." he said looking away scared, probably from the death stare I was giving him.

He put me down and I looked around. It wasn't as gross as imagined, but it wasn't "clean" either.

"This way," instructed Donatello, after covering the manhole.

It was too dark to see so I just walked forward blindly, listening to Donatello's footsteps, but soon I tripped over something hard.

I gasped, but I never hit the floor. Donatello had one arm around my waist and the other held my hand steadying the cake.

"Thank you," I managed to say through my embarrassment.

"No problem, is it too dark to see?"

"A bit,"I admitted.

"You should have said something. It's dangerous to walk without seeing where you're going. Well...since I don't have a light on me..." he paused briefly, "you could hold on to me. I'll make sure you won't fall."

Seeing no other option, "O-okay."

He grabbed my free hand to wrap my arm around his and lock arms together.

"Is this fine?" he asked timidly.

"Yes."

We went on like this for about ten minutes before I broke the silence with questions about his family.

"So what are your brother's names?" I asked.

"The oldest is Leonardo. He's our leader."

"What color is he? I mean his mask."

"Blue...you noticed we had different colored masks?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Oh well, the second oldest is Raphael. He has a red mask, and a bad temper. And he's violent," he said matter-of-factually, as if he's experienced his brothers violence too many times.

"I'm the third oldest, the brains in that bunch. And the youngest is Michelangelo-"

"He's orange," I interrupted.

"Yeah. He's..." he paused looking for the right word to describe his younger brother, "well, he's distracted, and in love with pizza."

"So all of you guys live down here?"

"Yeah, us and Master Splinter."

"Who?"

"Master Splinter is our father. He taught us ninjitsu."

"Oh, so he's a turtle too?" I asked trying to digest everything.

"No, he's our adoptive father. He used to be human...but he's a rat now."

That surprised me. "How'd that happen?"

He was mutated along with us 16 years ago. We'll explain this later tonight," he assured.

"Okay, how much further is it?"

"We're almost there." Soon I could see my surrounding as we got out of the sewers and into an abandoned subway line.

He unhooked his arm, and smiled a gap-toothed smile at me. "We're here."


	7. Chapter 7

It was the opposite of what I had expected: it was comfy, dry, and clean. All the furniture seemed second-hand and old, but in decent condition.

Two turtles, Leonardo and Michelangelo, if I remembered their colors right, were sitting on the couch watching a cartoon I didn't recognize. The other, Raphael, was reading a comic. They all turned their heads when Donatello announced our presence.

I quickly followed Donatello and felt a little panicked, as I always am when meeting new people.

"Guys, this is Maria," Donatello said introducing me.

"Hi," I said meekly.

"Hi Maria!" said an excited Michelangelo.

"Pleased to meet you Maria, I'm Leonardo, that was Michelangelo, and this is Raphael," he said pointing at each turtle as he introduced each.

"Hey Maria, what did Donnie do to get you to come? Blackmail? Beg? It was probably begging wasn't it?" Raphael said with a smirk.

"What do you mean blackmail or beg?!" said an enraged Donatello.

"Umm..." was all I could manage before someone interrupted Donatello's and Raphael's arguing.

"Yamete, we have a guest present, do not embarrass yourselves or make her uncomfortable," said a giant rat, whom, I assumed was their father, Master Splinter.

"Sorry," Donatello and Raphael in unison and hung their heads in shame.

"Oh no, it's fine," I assured, not wanting them to get in trouble.

"Hajimemashite," I said with a small bow, hoping I was right in that he used to be Japanese.

"Hajimemashite," he returned the bow, then with a raised eyebrow asked, "You know Japanese?"

"Not really, I've just picked up some stuff from anime," I answered.

"We'll it's appreciated."

"Oh, I um, brought a cake," I said awkwardly as all their eyes were planted at on me, making me uncomfortable.

"Oh, I can smell it from here! It smells amaaazing!" said the ecstatic Michelangelo.

"Where should I place it?" I asked Donatello, who then led me to the table.

The rest had followed us and I could feel their stares non-stop. 'It's like they're expecting me to take off screaming...'

"So, I just wanted to thank all of you guys for saving me last night. I'm truly grateful," I said, meaning every word.

"I bet you wouldn't needed us if there had been only two guys there!" said Michelangelo.

"Yeah, you had two of them down in so much pain that Leo and Mikey really didn't have much to do with them. That's not to say we didn't give them a good thrashing, 'cause we did!" said Raphael.

"Three men against one girl? They have no honor," said Master Splinter, shaking his head.

"You have to be more careful when alone at night," warned Leonardo. I nodded in agreement.

"Well, imma start cutting the cake," said Michelangelo.

After everyone had finished they thanked me for it. "No, it's nothing."

"When do you have to go?" asked Donatello who, thankfully, never left my side.

"I have to be home a bit before 10:30."

"Oh, it's only 8, would you like to stay a while longer?" he asked, his eyes pleading.

"Sure."

His eyes were big and his smile was bigger. "Would you like to see my lab?" he asked.

This peaked my interest. "Yes!" I said.

"Follow me," he said and led me out of the living room and into his lab.


	8. Chapter 8

Donatello's lab was a combination of science lab and mechanic workshop. Everything seemed neat and organized, but there were papers strewn on the table.

There was an array of half-way done inventions with interesting combinations of common household items, but they were shaped in new ways. "What are these?" I asked about to touch a blender-type thing, but thought better of it.

"Oh, just some random things I'd thought I'd improve in my free time.I thought I'd make then faster and more efficient, but lately I have more important projects to with on," he smiled and went over to his laptop, "Like this. I'm trying to make a retromutagen."

Immediately, he started naming everything in his lab with such excitement I couldn't even interrupt to even ask what he was naming. All I could do was nod and smile politely, but I did want to know what he was saying.

At some point he must have asked a question and was staring dejectedly at me.

"I'm sorry, did you ask something?" I asked embarrassed. 'Damn it, he looks so sad. I should've payed closer attention to what he was saying.'

"No, it was nothing. I'm sorry. I must be boring you. We should go back and watch a movie or something with everyone else," Donatello said with a small laugh.

"No! I wasn't bored at all!" I assured.

"You're nice. Don't worry about it, I'm used to people not enjoying this," he said looking over his lab. "So! What movie should we watch? I'll go get popcorn!" He said as he turned to leave.

"Wait! Donatello!"

"What?"

"I want to stay here instead."

"Why?"

"I want to see you work on something."

His eyes lit up and he came over to pick up the blender-thing .

"Okay, I'll finish this then. It shouldn't take long."

As he worked we talked a little about my school, my struggle in math, and my love of science.

"Really,I don't know why it's so hard. I'm great at everything else!" I said in frustration remembering the 75 I got on my last quiz.

He laughed, "haha, maybe I could tutor you?" he suggested. I thought about it, 'Well, I don't think I mind sending time with him. If his genius could get my grade up to an 90 then great.'

"Sure, I'd love the help."

"Really? But it would have to be here," he said, eyes bright.

"No problem, I'll just tell my mom I'm studying at a friend's house and she shouldn't ask for more."

"And that wouldn't be a lie, would it?" he asked, expectant.

"No, it would not," I responded with a smile.

He was about to say something when Michelangelo appeared at the door. "Donnie! It's not fair! Why do you get to keep Maria all to yourself? We want to spend time with her too!" he whined.

"I couldn't help but laugh.

"Donnie are you okay?" asked Michelangelo.

I turned to look at him and he was bright red.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he assured and got up. "I guess we should head back."

Once back in the living room, I sat near Leonardo who was engrossed in the same cartoon that was on when I had arrived. Donatello was about to sit next to me, but Michelangelo beat him to it. He glared at him as he sat next to Raphael on the other couch.

During a commercial break I asked Leonardo what the show was called.

"It's called Space Heroes. It's amazing!" he said excited.

"You only think so because you're a dork," said Raphael. This led to arguing between them, so I turned to Michelangelo who had many questions about life above.

Soon I had promised them all a visit tomorrow, with a pizza, and left with Donatello who jumped to volunteer to walk me home before Michelangelo could.

As we walked back, with a light this time, Donatello asked, "So we aren't too scary?"

I scoffed. "Of course not. You're all so nice, it's a shame you all have to stay down here."

"Well, we wouldn't want to start a panic up there," he said with a laugh.

He opened the manhole and I climbed out.

"Well, goodnight Maria.I'll see you here tomorrow!" he said with a wave before he covered the hole again.

I decided I'd turn in early today again as I had nothing left to do after this evening.


	9. Chapter 9

"Man, I'm glad Maria's chill enough to see how cool I-we are. She didn't freak out at all!" said Michelangelo.

"She is a very nice girl," agreed Master Splinter.

"Yeah, she's alright, a little quiet though. But did you guys see the way Donnie stared at her? He never took his eyes off her. If she were to freak out about anything, it'd be his creepiness,"said Raphael.

"Well what do you expect? He's in love for the first time," said Leonardo.

"Love is a powerful emotion," said the wise Master Splinter.

"So is heartbreak, and that's the direction Donnie's love-life is going," said Raphael.

"Well, let's hope Donnie gets over it on his own so that it's not awkward when Maria comes back," said Michelangelo playing on his T-phone.

Then, as Donatello entered the Lair, smiling widely of course, Raphael called out to him, "How'd it go Romeo?"

"Huh? Oh, fine. She'll be here at the same time tomorrow,"Donatello responded.

"Did you kiss your girlfriend goodnight?" Raphael mocked while Michelangelo made kissing noises and Leonardo stifled his laughter.

"What? She's not my girlfriend...yet..." he whispered at the end.

"What do you mean 'yet'?" asked Raphael. "You don't actually think you have a shot with her, do you?"

"Well, I-I don't know...I can try..." he whispered looking down.

There was silence since the brothers wanted to bring Donatello back to earth, but didn't want to hurt him. They all turned to Master Splinter for guidance, but seeing their stares, excused himself for the night, leaving them helpless.

"What if she already has a boyfriend? Or at least someone she likes? Are you going to compete with that person?" asked Raphael.

This had apparently not occurred to Donatello, as he was now visibly depressed.

"I don't know," he said sullenly.

"Donnie, what we're trying to say is, don't force yourself onto her or get your hopes up too high. You might be very disappointed," said Leonardo.

"Yeah," said Michelangelo not knowing what to say.

"Well, I'm going to work in my lab. Call me when we have to go out to patrol," Donatello said, as he went off depressed with the thought of having to compete with a human boy, who he'd knew he'd lose to.

"Maybe we were a bit too harsh all at once," said Leonardo.

"It's better sooner than later, before he gets too attached and his hopes too high," said Raphael turning his attention over to spike.


	10. Chapter 10

Donatello's P.O.V.

'Finally alone to think,' I thought once I was in my room after an uneventful patrol. 'But I got to see Maria's house, though her light was out.'

'I could make a never-ending list of things I like about her, and add to it everyday.'

'Like her laugh!' I remembered how dazzled I was by it, and oh, how I wanted to hear it again.

'But how do I make her laugh? What would she finds humorous? She laughed at Mikey's whining, what did that mean?'

Then I remembered Raph's words.

'I know I can't compete with a human boy for her affection, but maybe she doesn't have one yet! If I can quickly win her over then I have nothing to worry about! But how? I have to find out what she likes, and maybe I could show off some of my martial art skills. She hasn't seen me fight yet. She probably thinks I'm a dork too...'

I laid down to sleep, but couldn't help but smile as I thought about how comfortable she seemed the whole time here. 'Master Splinter seemed to like her too.'

I eventually fell asleep, only to dream about Maria in my arms.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey, Mom, I'm going over to my friend's house for tutoring. I'll eat there," I announced as I was about to leave.

"Tutoring? Who are you going to tutor?" she asked surprised.

"They're tutoring me."

"You're being tutored?" she said shocked.

"In math," I explained.

"Oooh, yeah, good luck. God, math is a hateful thing isn't it?"

"Yup."

I left and remembered the promised pizza. I called and waited outside my house for it.

"Hey Maria," called Donatello from the shadow between my house and the neighbor's.

"Oh!" I exclaimed startled.

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry!" he apologized.

"No, just surprised. I'm waiting for the pizza to be delivered. It should be here soon. I'm sorry, I'm making you wait."

"Not at all."

After I paid for the pizza, and had climbed down into the sewer, Donatello seemed to have an interrogation ready, even if he tried to seem casual or subtle about his questions.

"So, your boyfriend isn't mad you're spending your Saturday evening with us?" he asked, his voice tight.

"I don't have one," I replied, not liking the direction this conversation was taking, but his visible relief was interesting.

"Really?" he asked, eyes bright.

"Never had one, not planning on getting one soon," I replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him smiling widely.

'Why is he smiling? Is it because I don't have someone to spend my free time with...or what?'

"So, I'll take your silence as a yes?" he asked confused.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked as I didn't hear his question.

"I asked if you liked anyone in school..." he said timidly.

"I, um, no, not particularly. Why?"I asked before he could ask something else.

"What?" He seemed lost and embarrassed.

"Why're you asking me?" I repeated.

"Oh, because...I'm researching...average teenage girls..." he lied obviously, but seemed so embarrassed, I decided to drop it.

After a while, he finally decided to break the silence, " So, what math class are you currently taking?"

"Pre-calc, it's not as hard as I remember geometry and algebra 2 were, but all the same, I appreciate the help."

"My pleasure."

We then arrived, and Michelangelo thanked me as he took the pizza.


	12. Chapter 12

"No, you plug in 0's in the x's, and you divide the leading coefficients here because the degrees are equal," explained Donatello.

"Oh, okay," I said quickly fixing my mistake. "Is this right?"

"Yes, perfect."

After an hour or so, we decided we'd leave it at that for the day.

"Now what should we do?" I asked him.

"Um, I don't know. What do you do in your free time?" he asked.

"I usually read, or watch anime or movies."

"Oh," then I could swear I saw a light bulb go off in his head. "Want to see some of my martial arts moves?"

"Sure, why not."

He led me to a part of the lair I had not seen before, the dojo.

"I use a bo-staff when fighting," he explained as he grabbed one off the wall.

He did many amazing flips and twirled his staff extremely fast, but I actually couldn't take him too seriously. It seemed as if he was trying too hard to show off. And even though I'm not really into muscles, his lean arm muscles managed to catch my attention...

"Sooo, what do you think?" he asked leaning on his bo-staff.

"It was pretty cool," I said.

His brothers came into the dojo.

"Here you guys are!" said Michelangelo. "We've been looking for you guys!"

"What were you guys doing in here?" asked Raphael.

"Donatello was showing me some-" I was about to say 'tricks' but that seemed rude,"um, moves."

"Ooh, you want to see what I can do?" asked Michelangelo and started without waiting for a response. He used nunchucks and I clapped at the end because he seemed like he'd enjoy it. He bowed multiple times.

I turned to Leonardo. "What weapon do you use?"

"I wield two katanas, and Raph uses-"he was cut off by Raphael.

"Hey Maria, would you like to see a match between me and Donnie here?" he asked. Donatello looked surprised, and just a bit worried.

"I-I guess I wouldn't mind, but Donatello might not want to do it," I said.

"Sure he does, right Donnie?"he assured, but I sensed he was somehow mocking Donatello. I wasn't surprised when Raphael had Donatello on the ground in less than a minute.

'Raphael's kind of a jerk.'

Donatello had already given up but Raphael kept him pinned down. 'Poor Donatello.'

"Raph! Stop! Get off him!"said an annoyed Leonardo.

"Alright," Raphael said as he finally got off his younger brother.

Donatello slowly got up not meeting anyone's eyes. He was very red, and he eventually looked at me, but quickly looked away, and actually left the dojo.

"Not cool bro," said Michelangelo.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"Raph, did you really have to humiliate him like that in-front of Maria?" asked Leonardo.

"Should we go get him?" I asked Leonardo.

"I don't know. We should probably leave him alone for a while," said Leonardo.

"Maybe you should go Maria! I'm sure he won't send you away!" suggested Michelangelo.

"That might work," agreed Leonardo.

"By myself?" I asked unsure I'd know what to say.

"Yeah," said Michelangelo.

As I left Raphael suggested, "If you want to cheer him up, call him 'Donnie'".

'Donnie? But...I don't think I should...'


	13. Chapter 13

I looked in his lab, but he wasn't there. I was going back to tell the others, but I saw some rooms down a hallway.

'Which one would be Donatello's? This one has a _ **KEEP OUT**_ sign and this one has a Space Heroes poster. Those are probably Raphael's and Leonardo's.'

The next two rooms were also easy to guess who they belonged to, as one had a periodic table on it and the other had a pizza box taped on it.

I knocked on the door, but the was no response. I sighed and turned to go, but heard Donatello call, "Maria?"

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Um, sure, just give me a sec." I could hear draws closing and him waking around, cleaning.

He finally opened the door. "Sorry about the mess," he said embarrassed.

"No, it's fine, you've seen my mess before either way," I assured. He closed the door behind me.

After an awkward silence I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry you had to see that," he said embarrassed again, avoiding my eyes.

'Maybe I should try calling him Donnie...would he mind? I mean, only his brothers call him Donnie, and I like his full name...'

"Don-Donatello," 'Crap. Why is it so hard to say?'

"Yes?"

"Uh, never mind," he looked confused but didn't push for more.

"Do you want to go back? I must be boring you," he said misunderstanding my silence.

"Don-Donnie," I managed finally. He looked shocked and slightly red.

"Can I call you that?" I asked now drowning in a sea of awkwardness.

He nodded, still staring wide eyed at me. 'Crap, now what? He keeps gawking at me!'

"Well, I think we should go back now," I said with a nervous laugh.

I started to open the door but Donatello closed it from behind. He stood close behind me, my nerves skyrocketed and my blush spread.

"Donnie?"

"Maria...I-I," he stopped and backed away. "No, never mind, let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

Donnie's P.O.V.

After taking my Maria home, I had planned on confronting Raph for embarrassing me, but he came up to me instead, demanding to be thanked.

"What do you mean I should be thanking you? You completely embarrassed me in front of Maria!" I yelled.

"Donnie's yelling again..." whispered Mikey to Leo.

"Donnie has a point Raph. You were being a jerk and Maria probably sees you as one too now," said Leo.

"What do I care? I'm not stupid enough to fall in love with a human," he said back.

"Stupid? Really?! Says the one who-"

"Guys! You both need to calm down," Leo said standing up.

"Yeah, let's hug it-!" Mikey said but was silenced by the glares Raph and I gave him.

"Why are you so mad? I told her to call you Donnie, and she does now! I know how happy it made you to hear her say it. Evertime she said it you put on your big dorkish smile!" said Raph crossing his arms.

'Oh, so that's how he apologized.'

"Yeah, she did call you 'Donnie', didn't she? Why does she still call me Michelangelo?" said a jealous Mikey.

"If your want her to call you Mikey then just ask her to," said Leo. "Anyway, it's time to go out to patrol."

Finally alone in my room, I could decipher, or try to, all of what happened, and almost happened.

'I can't believe I almost confessed to Maria. That was not the logical time to do so. I have no idea how to make it special. But I probably shouldn't confess until we're closer. I don't think she likes me, yet. Plus, it's only been a couple days...

'The whole point of doing martial arts in front of her was to impress her and Raph had to ruin everything! I can still remember the pitiful look she gave me! I don't think I've ever been more humiliated in my life!

'Though, she _is_ calling me Donnie now. Oh, how it still rings in my ears!' I smiled widely at the memory.

'But if the idea came from Raph, I shouldn't think of it as a advance in romance between us...but the way she struggled to say it! It was too cute! And she must've thought it was special if she struggled with it, right? Ugh!' I threw myself on my bed.

'Why is this so hard to understand and put meaning behind?! Like why she blushes when we speak, but flinches when we touch! Or...are those just part of my imagination? I can't even trust my mind anymore!'

I spent the rest of the night trying to understand my situation with Maria and how to make it better, but I just ended up with a headache as I fell asleep.


End file.
